Showing all posts tagged Taiwan

China mostly talked this week. And they plan to talk more next week with Obama about Taiwan’s elections. Taiwan now allows 5,000 new Chinese visitors per day and China will give Taiwanese electronic passes in their visits. This raises questions about why China wants so many people in Taiwan while making Taiwanese in China easier to track. US experts think that Taiwan will be more difficult to defend from a Chinese invasion over the coming years.

Japan’s National Diet gave the nod for international military action for the first time in seven decades. China had some words about that too, having more to do with Japan’s military staying at home than with China’s military staying at home.

China managed to stay out of the lime light this week, while its satellites shined. There seemed to be some chest thumping. Chinese police ordered local Taiwanese police to investigate a Taiwanese suspect without going through their normal international channels.

According to a statement from Zhang Xiaoming, chief of the Hong Kong liaison office from Beijing, the Hong Kong CEO has supremacy over the other branches, which have separation of powers “under the leadership of the executive”. On the surface this seems to run contrary to HK’s Basic Law as well as other statements from Beijing officials. HK remains under Beijing ultimately and there doesn’t seem to be much evidence of power abuse. But, they are thumping their chests.

Singapore remains free and independent, with more seats up for grabs and more voters than any time in history. Japan is having a bad year with a flood; 3,000 evacuated. North Korea thinks it is humanitarian and that the UN is wrong. · · · →

Kim’s dismissal of top military leaders mirrors the downfalls of history. Top leaders are Kim’s strongest supporters. North Korea’s power could be imploding. “One Korea” could happen peacefully.

Japan prepares to make it’s military more deployable. The US gave the nod in recent months. Now, the Japanese government is ready to follow suit. Japan has maintained a “defense-only” military as a condition of the WWII surrender. Soon, Japan will be able to aid in regional conflict, such as with Korea or, say, Taiwan and Beijing.

China’s spotlight is more of a laser. Taiwanese officials take domestic flack over attending a Chinese V-Day celebration. The US isn’t happy about spying. China isn’t happy about reporting. Sanctions are on the way.

Propaganda backfired this week. Beijing wants more Internet censorship, almost to create a “Chinanet” akin to another Great Schism not seen since the Orthodox Church split from the West. TPP failed. Students in Taiwan stormed government offices to keep out China-propaganda over “minor” changes to national curriculum. An Australia-India-Japan alliance plumed out of nowhere. Taiwan and Japan are kissing and making up. And some truth came through well-kept gates.

An 18-year-old got back from his year in North Korea. The North Koreans shower together like Americans and Romans. North Korean students are curious about mundane life in America. And, notably, North Koreans seem to agree with a Americans: Government is the problem, not the people.

Joshua Wang, Hong Kong, had an interview with the BBC and explained that the Umbrella Movement never really had a plan and never communicated a plan to the public. But they did succeed in raising public awareness. · · · →

With China’s economy failing, the Chinese KMT-Nationalist party living in exile at Taiwan may have made a mistake in trying to merge the fates of the New Taiwan Dollar with the Chinese Yuan. Election time in Taiwan could mean a political “pay day”. China is in financial crisis.

Weapon sales from the US to Taiwan have stalled during the tenure of Obama and Ma, Taiwan’s president. Both elections are in 2016 and analysts are wondering why the US won’t deliver on its sales to Taiwan. The obvious answer seems to evade experts and pundits. Even with America’s failed negotiations with China, the Pentagon doesn’t seem stupid enough to sell weapons to a nation run by leaders who don’t know how to explain their own foreign policy. The Pentagon delivery service will deliver once Taiwan clearly announces which country should appear on the shipping label.